Bremerton, Wash., had early economic activities centered around the timber and lumber industry. William Bremer, a forward-looking German immigrant, realized the economic potential of a town located close to the Naval station and platted the town of Bremerton on Dec. 10, 1891. Through Bremer's promotional efforts, businesses and families were encouraged to move to Bremerton and provide the goods, services and manpower required to operate a Naval shipyard.

While nationally the U.S. Navy has seen a general downsizing, its population in Kitsap County stayed steady in the last decade and, in many areas, experienced growth. Because of the strong military presence, Kitsap's economy fares well during downturns. Kitsap is also home to a number of cutting-edge companies such as Art Anderson Associates, Concurrent Technologies Corp., Dimension4 and Extrude Hone that contribute significantly to its economy. In addition, Seattle and its employment opportunities are just a short ferry ride from Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Kingston and Port Orchard.

The accompanying charts demonstrate demographic, supply and operating statistics as of December 2009.

 

Pasadena, Calif.-based Self Storage Data Services Inc. publishes the ISS Flash Report, the Self-Storage Performance Index and other statistical data on self-storage operation. The company also reports on supply-and-demand factors affecting the industry. For more information, call 626.304.2920; visit www.ssdata.net.

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StorQuest Self Storage of Kapolei, Hawaii, formerly known as Aloha Island Self Storage, is facing a $10.4 million foreclosure lawsuit.

According to the suit filed Feb. 22 by Bank of Hawaii, the owner of the company failed to make monthly principal payments of $100,000 that were due on Aug. 1, Sept. 1 and Oct. 1, 2009. As of Feb. 17, the owner owed $10.4 million. That does not include the interest accruing at $5,050 per day as of the filing date. 
 
Though the facility is managed by StorQuest Self Storage and carries the brand name, it is not owned by StorQuest.
 
StorQuest operates six self-storage facilities on the island of Oahu: three in Honolulu and one each in Kapolei, Wahiawa and Waipahu.
 
Source: Pacific Business News, Self-storage firm faces $10.4M foreclosure suit

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Affordable Storage of Lubbock opened its newest location in Lubbock, Texas, at 103rd St. and Frankford.

Affordable Storage of Lubbock has three locations in Lubbock, two of which offer RV parking. The newest location is open seven days a week and offers climate control. Tenants use a personal access code to open the electronic gate, and every drive and hallway is in view of a camera. The facility also has 9-foot-tall solid metal fences. The company is owned by Michael Postar.

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Munters Corp., a provider of energy-efficient air-treatment solutions, has been recognized as one of 10 suppliers to receive Intel Corp.’s Supplier Continuous Quality Improvement (SCQI) award. The award recognizes extraordinary commitment to quality and exceptional performance to Intel’s goals and is the company’s highest honor for its suppliers. In 2009, Munters provided VOC abatement equipment deemed vital to Intel’s success.
 
The award is part of Intel’s SCQI program, which encourages suppliers to strive for excellence and continuous improvement. To qualify for SCQI status, suppliers must score at least 95 percent on a report card that assesses performance and ability to meet cost, quality, availability, delivery, technology and customer-satisfaction goals. They must also achieve 90 percent or greater on a challenging improvement plan and demonstrate solid quality and business systems. This year’s awardees also demonstrated compliance to the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition Code of Conduct and Intel’s Environmental Social Governance Program.
 
Celebrations to honor the award winners will be held in conjunction with Intel’s Supplier Day events in Tokyo, Japan, and Anaheim, Calif., this month. In addition, an announcement will run in the March 31 U.S. edition and April 1 Europe and Asia editions of The Wall Street Journal, with acknowledgement on Intel’s corporate website.
 
Munters specializes in energy-efficient air-treatment solutions and restoration services based on expertise in humidity and climate-control technologies. The company serves customers in a wide range of industries, including self-storage, insurance, utilities, food and others.

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StorageVault Canada Inc. has entered into an acquisition agreement to acquire a self-storage facility in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, from an arm's-length vendor.

The aggregate purchase price is $2.3 million (subject to customary adjustments). The acquisition agreement is subject to a number of conditions, including completion of due diligence and environmental investigations with respect to the property that must be satisfactory to StorageVault, financing, and the approval by the board of directors of StorageVault. If all conditions are satisfied, the acquisition is scheduled to close on April 23, 2010.

The purchase price payment terms for the acquisition will be a combination of cash, bank debt financing, and the payment of a refundable deposit made to the vendor upon execution of the agreement. StorageVault intends to finance the acquisition with secured bank debt and the proceeds from a private placement.

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U.S. Door & Building Components, an international supplier of rolling steel, commercial sheet doors and products for the self-storage and metal-building industries, has partnered with Creative Tent International (CTI) to provide wind-rated rolling doors for CTI’s portable tent structures.
 
CTI manufactures large fabric structures for rental companies, large events and the military. Its tents are used in extreme environments, including military applications in Afghanistan. U.S. Door, with expertise in dealing with extreme weather and wind conditions, provides a line of wind-rated products, including the 651 model wind-rated roll-up door chosen by CTI. The door will be installed on the slope side of CTI tents.
 
For more than 25 years, Florida-based U.S. Door has produced self-storage building components, self-storage roll-up doors, re-locatable buildings, lockers, mezzanines, wind-rated products, commercial sheet doors and heavy-duty rolling slat doors. The company created the first-ever self-standing mezzanine system designed for maximizing big-box buildings.

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Fort Box Self Storage opened its newest self-storage facility in the heart of St John’s Wood in London this month. The store has 380 self-storage units ranging in size from 10 square feet to 200 square feet. Customers can access units six days a week. The facility features carpeted corridors and an internal loading bay.

Fort Box provides a van free of charge to help new customers transport belongings to the storage facility. The facility also sells a variety of boxes, bubble wrap and packing materials.

Fort Box was founded in 2007 and opened its first self-storage facility in Oxford in 2008. Fort Box is the trading name of USIFB LP and is owned by Hugh Knowles, Ian Connolly and U-Store-It Trust, a U.S.-based self-storage operator.

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A self-storage auction scheduled for next week in St. Petersburg, Fla., is on hold after a consumer complained to the state that the unit may contain patient medical records and, therefore, sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and birth dates.
 
Tabetha Swartz, a research coordinator at Bayfront Medical Center, read in the newspaper that a self-storage unit rented by her former physician, Dr. Ana Oquendo, was to be auctioned by Budget Self Storage on 25th Street N. Swartz appealed to the state to prevent the sale.
 
According to the self-storage manager, Barry Smith, there is nothing in the state’s law regarding the auctioning of self-storage units that contain records. Doctors are required to keep former patients' records for at least five years, but the law does not stipulate what should happen to them after that. A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health said there is no list of approved ways to dispose of medical records, but the physician is responsible for maintaining their confidentiality.
 
Tammie Lockwood, vice president of St. Petersburg-based Storage Auction Protection Services, is working with Budget Mini Storage on the sale. She said she makes bidders sign a document promising to turn in any records, personal paperwork or photographs found in units, but it’s a difficult rule to enforce.
 
Lockwood said Oquendo was sent a certified letter notifying her of the auction and two legal notices appeared in the newspaper. Oquendo has until the auction date to pay her rent and re-possess the unit. According to Oquendo’s son and office manager, the doctor is trying to resolve the issue.
 
Lockwood said Smith offered to give the records to a state investigator who inquired about the auction, and he didn’t want them. She also said she will cancel the sale if the issue is not resolved and there are clearly records in the unit on the day of the sale.
 
Smith said a storage unit at his facility that was rented to a chiropractor, now deceased, is also awaiting auction. It too could contain medical records.
 
Source: TampaBay.com, Medical records may end up on the auction block

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StorageSeeker.com, a self-storage search and directory website, has unveiled an improved administrative and marketing interface for its subscribers. The new interface allows self-storage companies who purchase a premium listing on the website to perform a number of editing- and tracking-related tasks.
 
Premium-listing holders will now be able to monitor the marketing-performance results of their properties on Storage Seeker. Using the “Traffic” tab on the interface, they can actively monitor how many page views, driving-directions views, quote requests and coupon requests their property has received during a given month. They can also view historical month-by-month results as well as edit property information, self-storage unit prices and coupon specials.
 
Storage Seeker offers a pay-per-result pricing plan as well as monthly subscription plans for owners of self-storage facilities nationwide. Through StorageSeeker.com, a prospective tenant may submit a quote request to inquire about a specific facility’s prices, unit sizes and availability.

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